ARTICLES ABOUT GROTON BY DATE - PAGE 3

Aberdeen Central forwards Miah Wills and Grant Patronik each scored within 19 seconds of each other late in the first half to power the Golden Eagles to a 4-2 victory over Groton in the first round of the South Dakota boys' state soccer tournament. The Golden Eagles (9-3-1) got three goals from its front line and one from the back line in the victory, including defensive fullback Matt DeBoer's second goal of the season. DeBoer said he wasn't trying to score on the play, a free kick from midfield that opened a 3-goal barrage for the Golden Eagles in the first half.

GROTON - Groton used a balanced attack to secure a 25-22, 17-25, 25-23, 25-18 Northeast Conference victory over Webster on Thursday night. Ashley Gibbs led the victory with a dozen kills, followed by Kylie Hawkins and Sadie Rogers with six apiece. Skyler Bonn contributed four aces, and Courtney Kurtz added two aces to go along with 25 set assists. Webster received 19 kills and four blocks from Breanna Bullert and 10 kills from Jobi McCreary. Serving: Webster 73-86 11 aces (Mariah Block 13-13, Whitney Keller 5-5)

Usually when a coach and son or daughter are playing in the same game, they're on the same team. Not so with Steve Cogley and his stepson Chance Strom, who took the field Thursday wearing opposite team colors when Aberdeen Central faced Groton Thursday night in the first round of the state soccer tournament at Swisher Field in Aberdeen. Cogley is the head coach for the Aberdeen Central boys, while Strom is a junior goalkeeper for the Groton Tigers. Aberdeen Central claimed a 4-2 win over the Tigers to advance to the state title game tonight.

Some spectators brought umbrellas, but sunny skies ruled during the Lake Region Marching Band Festival Friday morning in Groton. "It's a great day for marching band," exclaimed Groton band director Reid Johnson to the crowd. Groton residents lined the street in anticipation of the start of the parade, which was led by the high school and junior high school marching bands from Groton. Each year, the host school leads the parade in an exhibition march, since it cannot compete.

More than 30 out of 280 students were out sick Monday at Groton Elementary School, but Principal Dan Dalchow said it's not a huge cause for concern. More than half of those students returned Tuesday, which likely means the absences were just a one-time spike, he said. "When it gets really bad, it will continue to escalate," he said. He has seen worse in years past, Dalchow said. Teachers and custodial staff have been informed to take additional precautions when cleaning classrooms.

After being in Waubay for 11 years, the Lake Region Marching Band Festival has a new home in Groton. Eighteen bands are scheduled to perform on Main Street beginning at 10 a.m. Friday. The Northern State University Marching Wolves also will be performing a field routine for the middle and high school band students. The venue was changed this year when Al Stewart, now the superintendent of the Grant-Deuel School District, left his previous post in Waubay. "Al Stewart was the backbone of the festival," said Groton Area School music instructor Reid Johnson.

The annual Groton homecoming parade, which was scheduled to be today, has been canceled. The public is instead invited to attend a community pep assembly at 1 p.m. Friday in the Groton arena. The Groton Daily Independent reports that a fundraiser and Kiwanis tailgating event will be moved indoors.

GROTON -- Missing two key pieces, Aberdeen Christian's boys found a way to come out on top at the Groton Invitational cross country meet on Monday. The Knights scored seven points, half of runner-up Webster's total. Christian had three runners in the top five, including the top two finishers, Tucker Iwerks and Seth Lundeen. Tanner Droog was fifth. In the girls' division, Webster had a one-two punch in Mackenzie Volesky and Mariah Volesky to lead the Bearcats to the team title with 11 points.